As one of the Commissions established by the International Congress of Radiology, the ICRP has continued its close relationship with medical radiology, recognizing however its responsibilities to other professional groups and its obligation to provide guidance within the field of radiation protection as a whole. In preparing its recommendations, the Commission considers the fundamental principles and quantitative basis of risk upon which appropriate radiation protection measures can be based. The role of the principal investigator, as Scientific Secretary of ICRP, is to co-ordinate the procedures by which recommendations are made. This involves collaboration with Commission members; involvement in appropriate meetings of the Commissions, its Committees and their Task and Working Groups; editing the reports prepared by the specialist bodies; preparation of critical reviews at the request of the Commission; and keeping abreast of new knowledge in radiation protection and allied fields. In the context of this application, the ICRP, through the principal investigator, is seeking funds to enable the assembling of knowledge radiation effects; and in doing so, to reach a consensus view amongst leading experts on how that knowledge should be applied for protection of the worker, patient and members of the general public.